A Hero's Return
by Animaman
Summary: This is what happens after Hero is found floating out in sea after the credits.
1. The Returning Prince

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

A week after the Hero was found floating in the middle of the ocean.

Lino En Kuldes, leader of the Island Nations Federation, was sitting on his throne, taking a breather from all the work he had to do today. As soon as Graham Cray was defeated, and the Dauntless returned to Obel, things started to feel normal, with a few differences.

The Crusaders might have disbanded, but the legend of their great deeds would never die. Especially those of their commander, Link, whose bravery and kindness will always be remembered by those who served under him, and those who were saved by him.

Before the INO was formed, Lino has forgotten a little bit about what has to be done as leader since he passed those duties onto Link, when they first sailed out on the Dauntless. Since the forming of the INO, Lino felt a little guilty for doing that to him, plus making the ships captain, and leader of the Crusaders, when he had his own problems to worry about. Even though the Rune of Punishment was sucking the life out him, he used it to save other people's lives.

A loud "OH MY GOD!" from Setsu snapped Lino from his thoughts, with the sound of running heading his way. He quickly stood up just before Setsu came in from the lobby. Setsu stop, gave a quick bow, and said, "Milord, somebody very important here to see you."

Lino was about to ask who when two sets of feet could be heard coming, but at different distances. One of them stopped in front of the entrance, while the other pair came through, belonging to his daughter, Flare, who was carrying a bigger smile than she usually had since that day. She took a step to her left and said, "There is a very special person to see you father." She said with pure satisfaction in her voice.

The footsteps started again, and this time, stepping into the light was a young man strapping two swords on both sides, and a pair of black half-gloves. One good look at the face confirmed at who he was looking at.

"Link?" Lino asked in complete shock.

"Hello . . . father." Link said.

Hope you like the prologue, I will try my best to squeeze this in with my other projects the best I can. Read and review.


	2. Reunion of Old Friends

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Last time

"Link?" Lino asked in complete shock.

"Hello . . . father." Link said.

And now

"FATHER!" was the response from Flare and Setsu.

Lino was just as shock, but not by much. "So you are the son I lost during that one pirate raid."

Flare was just recovering from the shock, when she asked, "You mean Link is really the younger brother that disappeared 15 years ago?"

"So Sir Link is really the lost prince?" was Setsu's question.

Link stayed calmed for a while, waiting for everybody to relax first. "How about we talk about this over dinner tonight? We have a lot to talk about." He suggested.

"We certainly do so dinner it is tonight." Lino agreed, although in some ways, he is glad to finally know that his family is back together again.

"Good, because I would like to try and visit some of our old friends while I'm here." Link said, before asking, "Please keep this between us?"

Although not sure about the whole thing, everybody nodded

"Thank you, everybody." He said, truly grateful.

The people who first saw Link heading towards the palace thought they were dreaming, but after seeing for a second time, they were more than glad to know that they weren't.

Ramada was more than glad to see him again. Link was also pleased to know that Ramada is alive and well again. Akaghi and Mizuki just so happened to walk by when they noticed a familiar face. Now there were four people locked in conversation.

Link was then able to break up an argument between Nico and Wendel, who both gave him a welcome back.

He found Tov, who was more than please to learn that the only captain of the Dauntless was still alive and in one piece. Tov explained to Link about the second ship he has been working on, but told him that the location is completely different now. He also told him that the Dauntless is now, just floating next to its original location. The conversation was going well until they heard Rachel yell out "STOP YOU LITTLE THIEF!" behind Link, then Link went ahead and caught Cedric by the collar of his shirt.

Cedric was struggling until he looked up and seen who it was that stopped his getaway. Rachel was about to thank her hero, but was just as shocked as to see that the hero is really the hero to all the island nations. Link said "You should really break this habit of yours." He stated simply. Link bided farewell to Tov, and started chatting with the other two. After the conversation, the town was laughing as they seen Cedric being dragged by the neck by Rachael just as Link was heading towards the infirmary.

Yu and Carrie were just about to say that they were closed for the day until they saw who just walked in. Carrie gave him a quick peck on the check and a big hug, and they started catching up a little bit.

After leaving the Infirmary, Link noticed that sun was already setting, so he decided to head on back to the palace.

I'll save the little family reunion for the next chapter. Enjoy. Read and Review.


	3. A Mother's Sacrifice

A HERO'S RETURN

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Link just came on top of the stairs when he decided to go take a quick look at the Dauntless before going into the palace.

From the ledge of the path between the palace and the cave where the ship was built, Link was able to get a good view of the ship. The Dauntless looked good, considering it has been a month since he last used the Rune of Punishment to protect it and its crew from the explosion from En-Eal.

The sun was almost gone when he decided to head back.

A few minutes later, he entered the palace dining room, where both Lino and Flare were on both sides of it. They gave Link a brief nod, which he returned before taking a seat. Just as soon as Link sat down, the food started coming in, Setsu being one of the servers.

After everything was served, Lino, Flare, and Link thanked everybody and started eating.

Link was the one who started the conversation, "I see the Dauntless has been well taken care of. Has it been used recently?"

Lino looked up and answered, "Not since you disappeared. We've been using Flare's ship for meetings with the other islands."

Flare also spoke up, "Father commanded it after you left, and decided to just let it be like a floating memorial for you. Nobody in this entire planet argued considering the fact that you were the original captain of the ship."

Lino then continued, "It just didn't feel right to have somebody new in command considering all the difference that ship had made in everybody's life. We pretty much didn't want to loose that feeling we had when we were on that ship."

Everybody has just finished their meal just as the servants came to grab their plates, and served dessert.

Link looked at them before asking "Feeling? What feeling?"

Setsu decided to answer that one. "The feeling of peace, of love, of comrades-in-arms, so many good feelings, that it's hard to describe." Then he went with the servants."

Lino said, "He's right about that. Every other ship we traveled on only had one or two of these feelings. Even Flare's ship barely felt the same way. You had something that nobody can replace on that ship, or copy on any other."

"I have to confess, even though the role of command had fell on your lap three times (_reminder_) Captain of the Dauntless, Commander of the Crusaders, and temporary King of Obel), you did a better job than me, or any other person I know," Flare said with such honesty, "You are defiantly one of kind." Lino simply nodded his head in agreement.

After everybody was done, everybody moved to the study, ordering Setsu to join them five minutes later. After he showed up, they all agreed that now was the time to get answers from Link.

Lino asked first, having a hard time finding the right question, "Did you find out after the story I told you?"

Link shook his head, "Although that story did get me thinking at first, I wasn't sure yet. I wondered if it was me, or just a coincidence. It wasn't until when I used the Rune to protect everybody from that blast at El-Eal, that I was able to learn the truth about us."

Flare was curious about this, "How did the Rune tell you that?"

Link simply answered, "Every time I used the Rune for something big like the Kooluk fleet during their first invasion of Obel, the Rune puts me into a tunnel full of memories from its past owners. That is what occurs every time I became unconscious. When I reach the end of the tunnel, I encounter the spirit of those people and I fight them to the end. Every time I won, I set them free."

"Sir Link, from what you just described, it sounds like the Rune of Punishment was testing you." Setsu spoke for the first time.

Link just nodded.

"So the Rune is gone from you now?" Flare asked

Link stayed silent for a while, than he removed his left glove, to show them an almost familiar looking mark. All three people gasped, thinking that Link was still in trouble.

Lino looked at him with full concern, "It never left?"

Link answered "No, but this time it changed for the better. Even though it chose to stay attached to me, the curse is long gone."

"How is that possible?" Flare asked, "Was there something in the legend that we missed."

Link decided to continue, "The last person I saw in the tunnels was the Queen of Obel," he stopped, noticing that he defiantly got their full attention now, "She confirmed your story about me being your lost son, but she also explained the things that she hid from you before she died."

Lino asked, in shock that his wife actually decided to hide something from them, "What kind of things?"

Link continued, as calm as ever, "She destroyed any evidence containing the true nature of the Rune, because it had something to do with me. Mother explained that the legend describes how only one person can control the rune's true power. She sensed that I might be that person so she destroyed every bit of information that she can find so that she can protect me from the wrong people. While I was growing up in Razril, I was just living a normal life, until some how, when Brandeau tried to destroy me with the rune, a barrier came up and protected me. It didn't make any sense until she told me that in some way, the rune that was past down was just a piece of itself, it just wasn't meant for anybody else. The other piece was inside me, protecting me from the evil. All those times that I've been using it to protect my friends, it started to become pure again. After using the last time, Mother told me that my trials were over and I somehow woke up in a lifeboat, with plenty of provisions to last me a couple of months." (A/N sorry, this part was a pain in the butt to explain)

Everybody was absorbing everything that was told to them.

Lino and Flare had tears in their eyes, realizing that the Queen not only protected them from pirates, but also protected the one person that they thought they lost for good. Setsu was crying his eyes out because now he was glad that the young prince was truly back.

Link, Lino, and Flare got up into a group hug, glad to now that the family was finally back together. After breaking the hug, they agreed on telling everybody as soon as possible.

Link decided to ask that one question that everybody has been waiting for since he showed up . . .

Hope you liked the family reunion and everything, next is the launch of the Dauntless and some more characters are brought back. To all you Snowe fans, he well show up somewhere between the half way point and the end of the story. Read & Review.


	4. Relaunch of the Dauntless

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Late warning: I am going to change some of the character endings.

Link decided to ask that one question that everybody has been waiting for since he showed up, "Can I have the Dauntless for a while? I would like to try and bring as many people back together for a little reunion before we tell them everything. Afterwards we can turn it back into the way it was."

Lino was more than eager to answer that question, "Of course. We wouldn't have it any other way." Lino also decided to throw in a little surprise for both the former Crusaders and Link himself.

Flare nodded in agreement, "I could use a little break from command. I want to at least spend the time at sea to get to know my brother more."

Link was pleased with this, "Okay, but you might want to get me up to speed on what happed to everyone else after I left."

Lino agreed to this before commanding Setsu to get a room ready for Link to sleep in for the night.

After they were done getting most of the list done, they agreed to go ahead and turn in early.

Before they left, Lino decided to tell him that one thing before anybody else did. "Link, before you go to sleep," he started, causing Link to turn around, "We put you in the lifeboat because we thought that you really were dead. Dr. Yu couldn't even find a single pulse. Before it got launched, some of the crew decided to put some food with you, because in some crude way, they didn't want you to go hungry, dead or alive."

Link absorbed this, before saying, "And I am truly grateful for that." Then he followed Setsu.

Setsu led Link to his room, "I hope you plan on making Obel your home."

Link just looked at him and smiled, "I'm sure I will, although the Dauntless will probably feel more like home right now."

"No arguments here." Was Setsu's response before he closed the door behind him.

Link removed his swords and placed them by the bed, laid down on the bed, and went to sleep.

_**In Flare's Room**_

Flare was lying on her bed, still getting over the shock that Link was her long lost brother.

When she first met him and three of the others in that lifeboat that they had to rebuild from that one island, it was out of pity due the fact that they exiled, and had a close call from their first encounter with Troy. The only thing they wanted to do was try and start a new life, but that wasn't even close to possible, since they found out that Link had that rune on his hand.

Ever since Ramada, Akaghi, and Mizuki tried to take the Rune of Punishment from him, she started to get worried about him, even more when he used it against the Kooluk fleet for the first time. When Tal and Jewel told her and her father about what happens whenever he uses it, they were all afraid that he was the reason that the Kooluk.

When Obel was liberated from the Kooluk, she was surprised to find out that it was Link, not her father, who ended up being the captain of the Dauntless. At first, she thought that her father had made a poor choice, but after she and Setsu joined the crew of the ship, she was even more surprised to see how many different kinds of people there were: Humans, Elves, Nay-kobolds, and even Mermaids. When she talked to all of them, they were more than pleased to serve under someone who was both a brave warrior and a gentle commander.

After Link used the rune to help protect everyone else from the blast at El-Eal castle, she felt so depressed, as did everyone else, even though they were celebrating the end of the Kooluk Empire. There were smiles, although everyone was wishing that their commander was there to enjoy it with them.

Now, she can't wait to see the look on everyone else's faces when they see Link is alive and well again.

She closed her eyes and went to sleep.

_**In Lino's Room**_

Lino, on the other hand, was already over the shock that Link really was his son.

The one thing that had him worried was the Rune of Punishment that was still on Link's hand. Even though he said the rune has changed for the good, he still wasn't to sure about that little legend that was told to him.

He would have to ask Link some other time about this, because right now, he just wanted to focus on helping his son out with this little quest of his.

He went straight to sleep.

_The morning after_

After breakfast, everybody went on the task of getting the Dauntless ready for its return to the big blue sea.

Setsu went to tell Tov to get the ship ready to support a crew again. Tov was more than pleased to acknowledge this.

Flare went to gather a crew, which also led to great results, since a lot of people were willing to serve under "Sir" Link again.

Lino and Link went to ask if their friends would join them.

Here is what happened, (sorry, but no conversations, just what went on)

They found Helga in the forest on the other side of island. As soon as she saw Link, she charged over and gave him a big bear hug, but it took Lino a couple of minutes to get her to let go before he suffocated. As soon as they told her what they were up to, she agreed to go right away.

Next, was Ramada, who was more than eager to come along with them, deciding to trust his employees to run things while he's gone.

Akaghi and Mizuki were both doing a little bit of shopping when both Link and Lino found them. When they asked them, saying no just wasn't an option for them. Plus, Mizuki wanted to see her sister, Kate, again.

Second day in a row, Cedric gets caught by the shirt collar, again by Link, with Rachel right behind him. When asked to join them, Cedric was fast to answer yes, although he was disappointed when Rachel said yes also, but for two reasons: one was to keep an eye on Cedric and the other because she missed being out on the open sea with her friends.

Somehow, they were able to run into Lo Fong, they barely asked her to come before she jumped for joy, because now, she can see her brothers again.

Jango just so happen to be there, with his ship docked for shore leave. He took one look at Link, acting all tough, went up to say hi. As soon as they mentioned the Dauntless's rebirth, so to speak, he offered his ship's services as an escort.

Yu and Carrie joined right away.

Travis wasn't sure, but went along anyway.

Manu wasn't much of a challenge, since he wanted to make sure his elevator stays working.

Nico and Wendel volunteered right away.

Oleg wanted to join, wanting to get some new ideas for inventions.

Perrault wanted to get more stories published.

Adrienne wanted a vacation, since she never had much of a break when she opened up shop in Obel.

Pecola was exploring Obel for the latest trends in that area. She gave Link a hug before agreeing to join them on the Dauntless for the second time.

Chandler was on the island, trying to figure out what to do, but decided to go because he felt like he belonged back on the Dauntless.

Jeremy, Millay, and Trishtan were on the path between the castle and the cave, talking with each other, when Link and Lino came up the path. Upon first glance, all three shook their heads at first, thinking that they might have worked a little bit too hard, but at second glance, they were glad that they weren't.

Millay gave Link a hug and a quick peck on the cheek, while Trishtan and Jeremy gave him a pat on the back. Two minutes later, the guys had to pry her off of Link. After their little chat, they agreed to come along, saying that they wouldn't have it any other way. As soon as Link noticed that look on Millay's face, the kind he could recognize a mile away, he quickly jumped off the cliff, and swam towards the Dauntless as fast as he could. Millay was standing there like a statue, wanting to cry right, while the guys were trying hard not to laugh at this, since she can be just as scary as Kika when she gets angry.

Five minutes later, everybody headed towards the castle, so that they can be ready for the launch tomorrow.

_The Next Day_

The whole island was excited as they watched the legendary ship of the Crusaders bark off on its second voyage, finally, and to make things even more memorable, the ship had its captain back in command.

Hope you liked the chapter. Kika and her crew makes an appearance, plus a few surprises in the next chapter. R&R.


	5. The pirates are coming back!

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

The launch of the Dauntless proved almost flawless, the only problems were that some of the sails needed stitching and they all had a surprise when Viki appeared out of nowhere (literally), along with a few other things falling out of the sky.

After everyone on the ship was done running for cover, everybody greeted her with such happiness.

As soon as she spotted Link, she was both relieved and in shock that he was alive and well.

"Sir Link, it is so nice to see you again." Viki greeted while giving him a tight hug.

"Same here Viki, even though, I'm surprised that your little sneeze brought you back here." Link said after the hug.

"The last time anybody saw you; you sneezed and disappeared during the victory banquet." Lino said.

"Yes and the next thing I knew I ended up in the middle of a lake. I fell in as soon as I looked down, I fell in. I blinked my eyes, and, well, I've teleporting nonstop until I came here." She said, hoping that she gets to see some of her friends before the next big sneeze.

"And we are all glad that you came back." Flare said, "Care to join us on our quest?"

"Sure, but what are you doing?" She asked

"Bringing every one of our friends together for a little reunion." Link answered, than he went back to work.

"I'll get everything setup for you." Flare said, just as Lino left to join Link.

Link and Lino were looking over the ship when they entered Doctor Yu's office, with Yu and Carrie stuck in a lip lock. When they both sensed somebody watching them, they both opened one eye to see both Link and Lino, their arms crossed, and a smile on there faces. They parted with a slight blush on their faces.

Link decided to change the mood a little bit. "I forgot to ask this, but when did he propose?" Link said while pointing at the ring on her finger.

"You two are married?" Lino asked in surprise.

"No, we are still deciding on the date." Yu answered, with the blush still on both of their faces. A loud "Oh!" was heard causing the three men to look at Carrie.

Carrie whispered something into Yu's ear, and he nodded with a big grin on his face.

"Captain Link, Carrie would like to ask you something." Yu said.

Link just looked at her, waiting to see what question is.

"Sir Link, I was wondering, since you are the captain of the ship, if you could perform the ceremony yourself." Carrie asked, nervous because this was just out of the blue.

Link was shocked at this at first, but he regained his senses enough to say, "It'll be honor to do so." He answered.

Yu and Carrie were happy, but a little surprised, about his answer.

"Just give me enough time to research this." Link said.

"Of course, and we well decide the where and the when of the when." Yu said, while shaking Link's hand, while Carrie gave him a hug. The couple decided to give Lino the same treatment, as he was truly happy for the two.

Link and Lino walked out the door to finish their rounds.

_On the Grieshund_

Kika was leaning back on here chair, taking a little break from everything. Even though she was glad to be the captain of her again, things were a little different.

For her, pirating has lost some of its thrill, since she was doing the exact opposite a couple months ago. Saving the world from a power hungry jerk was one thing, but losing someone she considered a close friend was another.

She was lost in thought when Sigurd charged in, with a seriously look on his face.

Normally, when somebody did that, Kika would remind them what to be afraid of, but the look on Sigurd's face told her something else. "What's the problem this time, Sigurd?" she asked.

"Dario has spotted a ship of great importance." He said, with anger in his voice.

Kika gave him a skeptical look, while gesturing with her hand to continue.

"It's the Dauntless that he spotted, in full sail as well." He said before charging back out to the deck.

Kika leapt to her feet and followed suit.

She grabbed the telescope from Dario to get a closer look for herself. As soon as she spotted her target, she now knew it was the Dauntless.

"Is what Dario said true?" Hervey asked, hoping that this was another one of Dario's mistakes.

"Yes, but there seems to be something else about though. Plot an intercept course now!" She ordered.

"Captain!" the crew replied.

_On the Dauntless_

Link and Lino are leaning over the side watching the sea past them by.

Nico and Wendell were at their usual lookout positions.

Lino decided to start a conversation, "So where are we heading first?" he asked.

Link just shrugged his shoulders, "No idea. Right now I just want to get use to being back onboard the Dauntless first." He replied, with complete honesty in his voice.

Lino just chuckled at this. "You don't know how to do a wedding do you?" he said, laughing out loud.

Link decided to join in on the laughter. "No I don't." he then turned serious, "I only commanded my first ship under really extreme circumstances." He said with some sadness in his voice.

Lino catching on to tone in Link's voice, he decided to leave it alone.

A few minutes later, Nico called out, "Pirate ship on the port side!"

Link and Lino ran to the other side, tense as hell.

As soon as he seen what the ship was, Lino calm down some before yelling out, "Relax, its only Kika and her crew!"

Link, on the other hand, yelled out "Don't relax yet. The crew is probably thinking that somebody stole this ship."

Lino realized that he was right. As far as everybody else was concerned, the Dauntless was just a floating memorial. "So what do we do now?"

Link thought it out carefully. "Everybody, get ready for battle now, and don't do anything else until I give the word!"

"Sir" the Dauntless's crew said, while saluting, before going to their stations.

"Are you sure about this?" Lino asked, with full concern for both sides.

"Right now, I'm hoping that a familiar face will prevent all of this." He answered, still watching the approaching ship.

_Back on the Grieshund_

Just as the ship was getting closer to the Dauntless, Kika kept on seeing what seems like a familiar face.

"Hey you guys," Kika called out to Sigurd, Hervey, Dario, and Nalleo, getting their attention, "does that guy look familiar to you?" she asked, pointing to Link while hoping for a few extra opinions.

Just as they were close enough for a point blank shot, their eyes looked like they were about to explode inside their skulls as soon as they realized who they were looking at.

Nalleo was the first to come to his senses. "Is that Captain Link?" asking the question that is currently in everyone's mind.

"WHAT THE HELL!" everyone else yelled out.

Link yelled out "Nice to see you too, Kika!"

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile, but my brain needed a little vacation. Enjoy the chapter. Next up, Kika and her crew joins the voyage (of course), and everybody starts off on Na-Nal Island, Nay Island a big maybe. Read & Review.


	6. Lilin and Liloon Join in

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

_Last time . . ._

Just as they were close enough for a point blank shot, their eyes looked like they were about to explode inside their skulls as soon as they realized who they were looking at.

Nalleo was the first to come to his senses. "Is that Captain Link?" asking the question that is currently in everyone's mind.

"WHAT THE HELL!" everyone else yelled out.

Link yelled out "Nice to see you too, Kika!"

_And now . . ._

Ten minutes after calming everyone down, Kika and her crew went aboard the Dauntless to welcome back their friend. Link was given a round of handshakes and pats on the back.

To everyone's surprise, Kika gave Link a little hug. By the time she realized what she was doing, she jumped back a couple of feet, with a slight blush on both of their cheeks.

Everyone else that was on deck had a small grin on their faces, but they instantly disappeared when Kika started to give them the look that said 'knock it off or get launched out of one of the rune cannons!'

"So what are you up to right now?" Hervey asked, trying to change the mood.

Except for Kika, everyone else gave a sigh of relief.

"We were still trying to determine that when you showed up." Lino answered.

Link suddenly got an idea. "I'll be right back." He said, getting ready to head towards the bridge.

"Can I come with you, Captain Link?" Nalleo asked.

Link gave a quick nod, and both went to the bridge.

Just as soon as the door closed behind them, Kika just flat-out asked what was on her crew's mind, "Does he still have that rune on his hand?" before turning to face Lino.

Sigurd, Hervey, and Dario were also looking at him, with questioning looks on their faces.

Lino just had a concern look on his face, confirming their fears.

Everybody had a sad look on their faces, until a loud splash, followed by a light thud, caught their attention.

They turned to see Lilin, one of the five mermaid sisters, standing there with a happy look on her face. "Hello, friends, how are you all doing?" she asked, while giving everyone a little hug.

"We're doing fine, how about you?" Lino said, after receiving his hug, "And you?"

"I am also fine. Right now . . ." she was interrupted when Link and Nalleo came back from the bridge; her response was out of pure joy, "Sir Link!" She said just as she knocked him down on his back, giving him a hug in the process.

Then, all of a sudden, another splash was heard, followed by a loud CRASH Caught everyone else's attention. They looked to see Liloon, who instead of landing on the deck as intended, crashed onto Dario instead.

"Why me?" was Dario's question for the day.

Lino helped Liloon up while Lilin was getting off of Link.

"Sister Liloon, how are you doing?" Lilin asked, while engulfing her into a hug.

"I am fine, Lilin." She replied, before noticing a rather familiar figure getting back up on his feet.

Link was barely back on his feet, when a red and white blur, shrieking "Sir Link!" knocked him back down.

Everyone else, except Dario, was getting a good laugh out of this.

"How come he has beautiful women going crazy over him?" Dario asked out loud.

Sigurd and Hervey both looked at each other, with a wide smirk on their faces.

"For one thing, he is extremely polite." Sigurd started.

"Another thing, he's thinner." Hervey continued.

"Very brave."

"Well built."

"Extremely handsome." Kika joined in.

"Okay, okay, I get the point already!" Dario shouted out.

Just as soon as Liloon and Link got back up on their feet, everyone calmed down some.

Link said, to the mermaids, "Nice to see you ladies again," then turning to everyone else, "I have the helm set a course for Na-Nal, so I need you three ladies to do me a favor, if that's okay with you?"

Kika and the mermaids simply nodded, "We do it, even if you were still our commander." Kika stated simply, Sigurd and Hervey nodded, while Dario was still pouting about earlier.

"Okay, I would like Kika to take her ship to find some people, while I need Lilin and Liloon to go and get your sisters, and have everyone meet us at Nay Island." Link told everybody.

They nodded to acknowledge the request. "We'll let you know when we will be leaving, but first, we would like to say hello to everyone." Liloon said.

Link nodded, and step aside for the sisters to pass.

"Hey Lady Kika, Captain Link, can I stay here to do the same?" Nalleo asked.

"Wouldn't bother me any, and if you want, you can come with us for a while if you want?" Link replied.

"Fine with me, but you'll have to see if your father will approve." Kika stated.

"Please father! I really want to see Eugene and Rakgi again!" Nalleo said with pure excitement.

Dario had a deep look on his face.

"Uh-oh, Dario seems to be thinking!" Hervey started.

"Run and hide everyone!" Sigurd finished, both with a sarcastic look on his face.

Amazingly enough, Dario ignored them. "Captain Link, can I speak with you in private?" he asked, with some concern in his voice.

Link nodded his head, and decided to lead him to the front of the ship.

Read and Review. Next up, Jewel, Paula, and a few other people will make their return. Sorry if this shorter than the others, but I haven't written for a long while, so I'm just starting things a little slowly right now.


	7. Two friends down

A HERO'S RETURN

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

_Last time . . ._

"Captain Link, can I speak with you in private?" Dario asked, with some concern in his voice.

Link nodded his head, and decided to lead him to the front of the ship.

_And now . . ._

"What are they talking about?" Hervey asked, curious since Dario didn't lash out at that last statement.

"Beats me. Usually he tries to tell us to 'mind your own business." Sigurd answered.

"He's thinking like a parent." Lino said, getting their attention, "While he is glad that Nalleo wants to follow in his footsteps, and yet, he can't help but worry what could happen to him. I should know since I always about Flare whenever she goes out on patrol." Being careful not to give away any secrets.

Dario and Link came back, reaching an agreement about something. "Nalleo, I believe your father has something to tell you, so why don't the two of you go ahead and go to the room you were sharing during our last voyage."

"Thanks Captain." Dario said, "Come son." He commanded while walking towards the door that led to the saloon.

"Yes sir." Nalleo said, catching up to his adopted father.

Just as the door closed, Hervey asked, "So what was that all about?"

"He wants to put Nalleo under my care for awhile." Link answered, getting surprised looks from Sigurd and Hervey, who looked like they never saw it coming, "From what he told me, or try to tell me, that just as El-Eal was starting to explode, he started to finally realize that while having Nalleo follow in his footsteps is heartwarming, but he felt afraid that he is the one making that choice for him." He said, "He's going to tell Nalleo to stay here so that I can teach him a life outside of a pirate, mainly to help give him other options by seeing what everybody else does and we both agree that the Dauntless was the perfect place to find out."

"Well what do you know," Kika said, not even appearing to phase at all by this, "the idiot can think with his heart." (Elsewhere, said person gave a light sneeze.)

Link just stood there for a bit. "As much as I want to catch up with everyone, I have duties to attend to." He said before heading towards the bridge.

Lino just chuckled, "Mind of an adult, heart of a child. Not even the powers of a True Rune can change that." He said before walking towards the saloon entrance, with everybody else going about their own business.

The next day, the Dauntless and the Grieshund have already parted ways towards their next destinations.

_Na-Nal, one week later . . ._

Jewel is outside the hotel, talking to Eugene, who seems to be showing more backbone since being under Lino's wing. He was still working up the courage to stand up for himself every now and then, with his new friends supporting him.

Jewel was in the middle of telling what it was like before the Rune of Punishment changed things, until she saw a very soaked, very disappointed individual walking up the steps that lead to the beach down below. Eugene was trying to hold back a chuckle while Jewel had to ask, "What happened, Ugetsu? Get your line caught on a boat again?" She asked, indicating that this isn't the first time it happened.

Ugetsu just shrugged, "No, water dragon, and this time, I had a thunder rune ready for such emergencies." He answered, while walking towards the hot springs.

"Hello Jewel, Eugene." Paula greeted her friends, while the two decided to continue their conversation, "Am I intruding?"

"Not at all," Eugene answered, "Jewel was just telling me about your days in Razril."

Paula gave a sad look, "I see." She said, looking down towards the ground, "I can still remember when I first arrived at that place with my mother about ten years ago. We were banished due to my mother's kindness towards humans. When we first arrived, it was hard at first because we thought we would be ridiculed by the town, so we kept our distance." She looked up towards Jewel, with a small smile on her face, "It was a month later when I felt that things were getting better. That was when I first met Jewel. Remember?"

"How can I forget? I just happen to be lost in thought and we ended up bumping heads, literally." She answered, rubbing her head in embarrassment. "And afterwards, we became the best of friends. It was about a year later when we first met Link, Tal, and Keneth, completing our little circle."

"Well, as much as I want to hear about the good old' days, I promise to treat my mother out to lunch today." Eugene said, giving a small bow, and left.

The two walked off towards the beach, just talking about whatever. When they reached that last step, they froze right into place. There, docked at the harbor is the Dauntless, still in her glory. What really got their attention was a young man, dressed in his usual black, with red lining, outfit, with a red bandana tied around his head, and a pair of swords on his sides.

Okay, so I couldn't resist a cliffhanger, so please Read and Review anyway.


	8. NaNal island

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

_Last time . . ._

The two walked off towards the beach, just talking about whatever. When they reached that last step, they froze right into place. There, docked at the harbor is the Dauntless, still in her glory. What really got their attention was a young man, dressed in his usual black, with red lining, outfit, with a red bandana tied around his head, and a pair of swords on his sides.

_And now . . ._

"Hey Jewel, Paula, how are you doing." Link said, confirming wither or not they were dreaming or not.

Before anybody knew it, Link was 'again' tackled to the ground by, this time, a pair of women, while Lino came along and started to laugh at his little predicament, "I know a few single men who would like to know your little secret when it comes to women."

After he was helped back unto his feet, he replied, "That's what I like to know also, so that way I can figure out how to protect myself from further incidents." Causing Lino to laugh even harder.

Jewel was the next one to speak, "Link, I don't get it; we thought that you were dead after you used the Rune of Punishment to protect us from that blast." Paula, on the other hand, "You still have it, don't you, Link?"

Link just said, "Yes, but in a good way." Before heading up the stairs, only to be followed by the rest of the group.

When he reached the top, he noticed how well Na-Nal seemed to be doing ever since Kooluk's assault a few months ago. He looked around before he noticed Rikie, talking to Selma, so he decided to greet them. He wasn't surprised to see that Rikie noticed him first since she could sense the 'aura' of the rune.

"Sir Link, is that really you?" She said, getting the elf's attention towards their friend, "I thought . . ."

"No, the rune didn't kill me; it just changed itself into something harmless." He intercepted, "Right now, I'm still learning what they are."

Unfortunately, this caused the other nearby villagers to go into frenzy when they recognized the young man responsible for leading the fight against the Kooluk and the Cray Trading Company and came out victorious. "Somebody get the Chief!" Were heard over and over, as it continued uphill. After about ten minutes, both the chief and Axel showed to see a person that has proven to be the light in a time of darkness.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Link. And I thought this day was going to be just as boring as the others." Axel said his usual cocky self.

"And I see that you're still full of yourself." Link said, "I thought you being smacked on the head by Rita and her mallet would have knocked some sense into you."

That remark did it. When the villagers surrounding them started to laugh out loud, Axel's hand was seriously starting to twitch really bad, wanting to use the sword as a response. When a familiar laugh reached his ears "Oh no, not you too, Pops!" He yelled out.

The village chief just clapped his hands together and said, "Well what can I say, Axel? When I hear that my only son, a grown man with a big sword, gets beaten by a young lady barely half his own age, the only thing that I can do is laugh." He then walked past his son and decided to finally greet their guests, "How have you been, Sir Link?" He asked, while extending a hand out in a friendly gesture.

Link gladly took his hand and said, "A whole better compared to our first visit to this place. Have you made your peace with the elves yet?"

"Right now, a small few of both sides are slowly starting to accept one another, an even smaller few, which consists mostly of your friends and those who served under you, while the rest are still trying to understand the concept of peace between our two people." The chief replied, while slowly scratching the back of his head.

"Hey pop, maybe we should continue this at our place, considering they just got here and everything." Axel told his father, who calmed down enough to think straight.

The chief nodded in agreement, "Good idea, Axel." He said, while still looking at his island VIPs, "Please follow us to our mansion, and I'll make sure to have something nice to drink."

Both Link and Lino nodded their heads in agreement before following Axel and his father up the large hill.

*** * ***

Rikie was just sitting at her table, reading one of the books that she hasn't read in over a year and a half, since she started her own quest to the Kingdom of Obel to learn some tales about the Rune of Punishment. It was a book given to her by her husband during her last birthday which he was still alive. She was in the middle of a chapter when she heard somebody knocking on the door. "I got it!" Was heard as she heard her son, Rakgi, hurry towards the door.

"Hey Eugene, Nalleo, how's it going?" She heard her son ask his friends, before hearing the double take, "Nalleo!" What are you doing here?" Rikie couldn't help but chuckle due to her son's happiness to see his old friend from their Dauntless days. She was also glad that Rakgi has something else to smile about, remembering how painful it was when they first heard about Link's sacrifice back at El-Eal, using the Rune to protect everybody from the blast that could of taken out the entire fleet. She tried to return to her book, while unintentionally listening in on the boys' conversation.

"Nalleo, since you're here, I guess that means Lady Kika and Dario are here as well, right?"

"No, I came here on the Dauntless, and since I wanted to see you so much, my father decided to let me come here with the crew. And so, here I am."

"Wait; hold on a sec, I thought everybody agreed to let the Dauntless stay at Obel as a floating memorial or something."

"It was, but Sir Link needed it to bring everybody together for a little reunion, well almost everybody."

"What! Sir Link is alive!!"

"Yeah, he just went up the stairs with the chairman to see Axel and the village chief."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go see him!"

"Yeah!" the other two said just as door was heard slam shut.

Rikie couldn't help laughing when she heard her son's excitement over such news. It didn't even take ten seconds for the name to sink in. She turned around, with wide eyes, saying that one name out loud, "Sir Link."

I'll end it here since I don't feel like placing one island into one chapter. Sorry this update was so late, but life kept getting in the way, along with trying to land a job. I'll update after I'm done working with my other stories.


	9. NaNal 2

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

_Last time . . ._

Rikie couldn't help laughing when she heard her son's excitement over such news. It didn't even take ten seconds for the name to sink in. She turned around, with wide eyes, saying that one name out loud, "Sir Link."

_And now . . ._

Up at the village chief's house, everyone was sitting down, enjoying the tea that was served by the chief, as well as Selma showing up and taking a seat next to Axel. It was at this point that Link couldn't help but notice that the two were holding the other's hand, "So how long did it take for you two to hook up?" Link asked.

Both were fighting hard to hide the blush that was trying to make itself known, "Well, the feelings were always there, the only thing that stopped it from making it known was the hatred that our people had for each other." Selma said, "And when we finally got the chance to know each other on the ship, we didn't want to start anything yet until after the war ended because we didn't want to risk going through any kind of heartbreak."

Link and Lino nodded to this, understanding it completely, "And you didn't want to ruin Axel's reputation as a tough guy, right?" Link said, cause everyone to break out laughing, except for Axel who looked like he was about to blow some steam out of his ears.

The chief calmed down enough to ask the question he's been meaning to ask, "So what brings the Chairman of the INF and the hero of our islands to mine?"

"We're going to try and get as many of our old comrades that we can find together for a little reunion of the Crusaders." Lino answered.

"So how about it you two, care to join us for one last trip?" Link asked, before finishing off his tea. Just before either one of them could answer, a loud knock was heard.

"Now who could that be?" The chief asked himself before opening the door to see Rakgi, Nalleo and Eugene standing at the door, "Let me guess, you're here to see our guests, right?"

All three nodded before the chief stepped aside to let them in, "Hey guys, what's up?" Link greeted the three.

"Hey Sir Link," Rakgi said, "I just had to see with my own eyes on wither or not you're still alive or not."

"Same here, except that I saw you leaving with Sir Axel and chief, I had to take another look to see wither or not my eyes were playing tricks on me or not." Eugene said.

"Nice to see you guys too. Right now we were just shooting the breeze here, but your timing couldn't be any better. I've got a little assignment for you guys; do you think you can do it?" Link asked, already knowing the answer since the smile on the boys grew even bigger.

"Sure thing, Captain, what is it?" Nalleo asked, while the other two nodded in agreement.

"I need you to go up to our old crewmembers and tell them that an **old friend** of theirs wants to meet them all early tomorrow morning for another voyage. And whatever you do, don't tell them about me because I want that to be our little surprise." Link said, seeing the boys nodding in agreement before they started to leave, "Oh, and Eugene, if you want, you can invite your mother to come along with us on this trip."

Just as the door closed, the chief asked "Why tomorrow morning instead of tonight?"

"It's dangerous to sail around here at night, especially with some of those huge rocks sticking out of the water, as well as the wind and the tides are more cooperative in the morning that at night." Link explained, "Plus I let the crew take turns on shore leave since traveling on water for about a month would make just about anybody want to place their feet on ground that isn't moving constantly."

The chief nodded, understanding it mostly since he doesn't tend to get off of the island very much due to his mistrust of elves.

"Well, unless there's anything else we need to discuss, right now I'll just take a little walk around the village." Link said before getting up, "Probably take a dip in the hot springs before they get full."

"Yeah, thanks for the tea, chief, but I think I'll do the same." Lino said, before following Link out the door.

(A/N I'll just skip to the next morning since I'm not in the mood to give a description of what occurs until then.)

On the beach, except for Ugetsu, Rita, everyone else was waiting for Link to show up, so they could get back on board the Dauntless once more for this trip. It wasn't until Jewel noticed her old friend walking up the dock, "Hey Link, are you really going to try to bring everybody together again?" Jewel asked, while waving to get his attention.

Link stopped until he was just about five feet away from the group. "Sure, why not? You never know how long it would be for us to be together again like this." He answered before Rita rushed over and hugged him on the waist, this time leaving Link on his feet, "Hey Rita, it's nice to see you too." He said to the girl while patting her head.

"Same here, Link," Rita said, "Things just hasn't been fun since you were gone."

Ugetsu walked up and they both shook the others hand while the fisherman asked "Ready to break some fishing records?"

"Always am." Link responded, before turning towards the rest of the crowd, "Well, what are you all waiting for, lets go." He yelled out, while gesturing everybody to follow him.

Within the hour, the Dauntless was underway again, this time towards Nay Island.

Sorry if this seems shorter than the last one, or even lacking something, its just that I'm going through one of those days where your brain just decides to take the rest of the day off and forgets to invite you along. Read and Review.


	10. Nay island

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Even though the war to save the islands from a madman has come and gone, Nay island still remains mostly the same, except for shop that is currently being run by Nalkul, Champo, and Noah. near the inn. Right now Noah was taking a little walk along the beach, wanting to get away from the constant bickering going on between the two Nay-Kobolds. The one thing that was on her mind the most was the lost of Link. That person had a way of changing most people for the better, now was sent afloat into the sea due to him using the Rune of Punishment to protect everyone in the fleet from the explosion from El-Eal.

"Excuse me, but is the chief still at his house?" A person asked, Noah not even bother to look up.

"Yeah, I think he's taking a personal day today." She answered, not realizing to whom she is talking to.

"Thanks Noah." The person said, while walking away.

"Sure thing, Link." The girl said, before continuing her little walk. It only took her about five steps before it dawned on her on who she just spoke to.

When Link was just barely close to the stairs, the next thing he knew he was eating sand, 'why me?' was his only thought.

Lino looked down at his son's situation and couldn't help but laugh again at what was becoming a regular thing, "You do know that you're going have to learn to dodge them if you want to keep from getting tackled all the time." He said, while containing a laugh.

"Except that by some chance that they fell and got hurt, who's blood do you think they'll be after?" Link shot back, causing Lino to laugh harder, "Hey Noah, do you think that it's safe for me to get up now, or would you rather have me keep eating sand?"

Noah had the decientcy to blush a little before she got of the poor guy, "Sorry about that Sir Link. It's just that I had to see for myself if you were real or not."

"Don't worry about it Noah," Lino intervened, "Link here has been knocked down more than once on this entire trip."

"Anyway," Link started to say while dusting the sand off of his body, "Kika and her crew should be here any time now, with some more of our friends. Do you think you can wait around for a bit, and let them know where I went?"

"Sure thing. Right now I'm just looking for an excuse to take a break from Nalkul's and Champo's constant arguments over every little thing." Noah said, causing those around to give a little laugh as they continued walking.

About an hour later, Kika, Sigurd and Hervey have just arrived on their ship, feeling a little glad to be on solid ground again. "Man, it's going to be weird when we get the whole gang together again." Hervey said.

"I know, although it would be nice to take a break from cleaning up after Dario's little screw ups." Sigurd responded back.

"Hey everyone, how nice of you to finally show up." They looked to see that Lino was there to greet them, "Link would be here to greet you, but he has other matters to attend to."

"Don't worry about it. We all know that Link still has a lot of catching up to do." Kika said, "Right now I've brought about four people with us, and I'm pretty sure they would like to greet our old commander."

"Wait, did we hear right?" Everybody turned to see both Lo brothers, Lo Seng and Lo Hak, like they were in some sort of dream, "Did you just say that Sir Link is still alive."

"Alive and well, although you'll have to wait awhile before you can see him again." Lino explained, "Anyway, I'm pretty sure your sister will be more than glad to see you two again. You'll find her somewhere on the Dauntless."

"Yeah we better go and say hi to Fong or else she'll really give us an earful for not greeting her first." Lo Hak said, while Lo Seng gave a slight nod before both left to board the larger ship.

*** * ***

Basil is currently overlooking the cliff that faces Iluya Island. After the islands have retrieved their freedom back into their own hands, he decided to stay at Nay Island for a little bit, just to help out the old folk since he knew that his little tops game would only take him so far.

Right now he was remembering his time in Razril, where Link and his friends would greet him, and even sometimes play his game. He can hardly do that here since most of the people here are more thumbs than compared to when they were younger, and the hands of a Nay-Kobold weren't designed to spin anything so small in the first place. He started to think about doing what his friends got to do when they were training to be Marines, which is mainly go to work on a ship. The only thing he won't do is learn how to use a weapon since he's a gamer, not a fighter.

"Like some company?" A person asked, leaning over the rail.

"It's fine with me." Basil answered back, not even bothering to recognize the voice.

"So what are you thinking about?" The person asked.

"Just thinking about where I should go from here. Right now I'm just thinking that now would be a good time for me to start growing up some more." Basil explained.

"Yeah, will when you do grow up some, make sure to pay back that 100 potch you owe me from that last game we played." The person said, getting the boy's attention.

Basil's eyes went why when he saw who he was talking to, "Link, is that really you?!" Basil shouted out. Both gave each other a high five before continuing their little conversation, "Man, I can't begin to tell you how glad I am to see you alive and well."

"You and everyone else I've met along the way." Link said, while looking towards the store behind them, "Anyway, I'm getting the Crusaders back together again for a little reunion, and I thought you would like to come along."

"You don't need to ask me twice. I was starting to miss being out on the open sea." Basil answered back within a blink of an eye.

"Well, I've gave everybody a chance to spend the day here, especially those who still have family living here." Link got up and walked towards the door, "Well, we better break the news to Nalkul and Champo before they decide to break the store."

Basil chuckled at this before following his friend towards the store.

*** * ***

_The next day_

After being greeted by Agnes and Bartholomew the night before, everyone woke up refreshed and determined to get their main objective taken care of, they went ahead and got whatever business that needed to be taken care of before they finally went to sea again. Their next destination now being Iluya Island.

Here's the latest chapter. Sorry its not so impressive, the problem is that the only thing that goes on Nay island is that you recruit very few characters, only one mini-game, and you ask them to join up, other than that, those that made the game didn't make it anything special. Read and Review.


	11. Cafe get together

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Link, Jewel, and Paula were currently in the boutiques catching up on what was missed during Link's absence. Right now, the one thing that they were missing is the people that use to cook for them when they were still an army. Right now, they were taking this opportunity to catch up on what's new in Razril. They've already discussed about what Tal, Keneth, Katarina and Konrad are currently doing.

"So has the town forgiven Snowe yet?" Link asked about his old friend, while taking a drink of his water.

"Yeah, even though we explained it to them that Snowe fought as one of us, it still took him awhile to regain their trust again. Even though his time as a Crusader was short, I think a bunch of us have rubbed off on him, for the better at least." Jewel answered.

Paula continued, "When it was told that Snowe would have to start from the bottom up this time, I believe he was pleased because he was no longer under his father's or Gaien's shadows anymore, the last time we saw him, he was slowly starting to make his own place among the people, even though I believe he still feels guilty about what he has done to you after that one mission that changed everything."

"At least he's living his life in his own way, that's all that matters." Link said.

"We're approaching Iluya! Everyone get ready to dock." Nico's voice rang out through out the ship.

"Time to see how happy Nataly is for being aloud to do windows again." Link said, causing the two girls to give a small giggle.

*** * ***

Iluya Island was starting to come to life again, especially with the rain long gone, and the Kooluk post completely dismantled. With the help of the INF, they were able to rebuild as many homes and businesses as possible to help bring the place back to life.

Right now Kevin and his wife Pam were busy as ever since they reopened their café again since their last one was destroyed due to the Kooluk's heartless approach on testing out their new weapons on other people.

Right now, Kevin was busy wiping down the counter while Pam was in the back, baking some of her buns and cakes to replace the ones they ran out of. When the bell at the entrance rang out, he didn't bother looking up while asking the customer "May I help you?"

"Yeah, how about some strawberry cake and a nice glass of milk to help wash it down with." The customer answered.

"Coming right up." Kevin said still not interested in looking at the customer, "Pam, we'll need a slice of strawberry cake."

"Coming right up." Pam yelled out.

*** * ***

In the town square, Izak was looking at the memorial built for those who lost their lives from that day when the Kooluk decided to use their island as a target to try out a devastating weapon. There is also flowers growing around it where Izak planted those seeds from the time he left to join the Crusaders.

"It's hard to believe it has been about seven months already." He turned around to be greeted by Lino, "Nowadays, I can't help but wonder if that whole experience has been nothing more then a bad dream."

"I know what you mean. One day you're enjoying life, nothing out of the ordinary, and the next, you come back to find what looks a war zone instead of the home you lived in." Izak said, "And the one thing that would never change is how many people would always shows gratitude towards the one that brought people hope in times of darkness."

Lino nodded at this, while trying to keep a straight face. He wasn't sure what to do next until he was greeted by a familiar person, "Hello Izak. Hello your majesty."

"Hey Nataly." "Hello Nataly." Both greeted the young window girl.

"I'm going down to the café to grab a little treat, care to join me?" She asked.

"Of course we would." Izak said.

"Yes, we would love to escort a lovely young lady such as yourself to your destination." Lino said, while doing a little bow.

Nataly gave a small giggle at this, "Okay, let us be get going before it gets busy again." She said, while remember those times on the Dauntless, where even though there were very few windows on that ship, everyone was there to support the other, although the jury was still out when it came to Maxine.

*** * ***

Link is currently having a nice little chat with Kevin, while Pam had to rush back into the kitchen to keep their goods from becoming well done. When they finally noticed who arrive, they were frozen in place for a while until the glass that Kevin have been holding slipped out of his hand and shattered, which was followed by a few choice words from Kevin when he went to get the mop to clean the mess he made.

"So besides letting people know that you're still alive and kicking, what else is new?" Kevin asked, while Link was cutting into his cake.

"I'm bringing the gang back together for a little reunion, and Iluya was the next place to check." Link said, before taking a drink out of his milk. When he placed the glass back on the counter, he opened his mouth to say something else, unfortunately, he was tackled from behind, causing his face to crash into his cake.

When Lino, Izak, and Nataly came into the café, two of them were a little shocked, while the other knew what was coming next. The next thing to happen can be nothing more than hilarious when Nataly charged towards Link, who was busy talking to Kevin, and hugged him on the back.

When Link slowly got his head off of used to be a good piece of cake, the only thing that came out of his mouth was "Is this going to happen to me every time we visit an island?"

Lino was laughing a little hard, forgetting one little detail *splat!* Link was armed this time, "Can I get another slice of strawberry cake please?"

"And I'll have a slice of one of your mincemeat pies." Izak said, "What will you have Nataly?"

Nataly gave a slight blush, since some more people will get to now her little weakness, "I'll have a slice of your triple chocolate delight." She ordered.

"I'll have a piece of cherry pie, thank you." Lino said, after wiping the cake off of his face.

Everyone stayed around and have a nice little conversation, especially when Pam came in with a try full of goodies.

By the next day, they had some new additions to their little reunion trip.

Here is the latest chapter, so enjoy. Read and Review.


	12. Wet All Over

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

The Dauntless is currently good time as they made their way to Middleport to pick up another batch of their friends. While some people might treat this like a vacation, the people that they picked up have been more then please to be put back to work with the crew since it's something they missed doing ever since that day.

Right now Link and Flare were looking out towards the sea, while Lino watching over to make sure Setsu got done cleaning out the bath. While they might have forgiven him for how badly he treated Link when he first arrived, somehow, thanks to Desmond, he found some laws involving what were to happen to those who treated royalty the way he did back then, and right now he was grateful that they didn't have him clean out the Cultivation Room.

"You know, this is the only thing that I could never get tired of," Link said, "Whenever I had enough time to take a break, I'll just look out into the sea and whatever trouble that I went trough while I was growing up in Razril would just disappear."

"I don't blame you. After everything you went through, even you need a way to release the stress." Flare said, "Besides, I feel the same way whenever I go on patrol, although sometimes I just want to get away from Setsu's smothering ways for awhile since he likes to remind everybody around him that I'm royalty."

They were silent once again until he noticed five figures under the ocean heading their way, "Heads up, we have company heading our way." Link said, having both him and Flare step aside just as five figures jumped out of the water.

There stood on the deck were the five mermaid sisters that they were kind enough to give sanctuary to from those who were literally after their hides. Right now, while Lilin and Liloon already got their hugs out of the way from their first visit, along with Lilon, Lilen and Lilan, "Sir Link!" The next thing anybody knew, Link was tackled into a hug, this time knocking all six to fly overboard into the ocean, while Flare was busy laughing her head. "Man overboard!" Nico yelled out after hearing the splash.

After pulling Link and the mermaid sisters out of the water, "So besides the fact that you're happy to see me, how are you ladies doing?" Link asked while taking a towel offered to him by Desmond.

"We're doing fine. Ever since Sir Lino said that our island was undo the federation's protection and that we were allowed to run the island we see fit, things have been getting better for us. Even some of our people have started to return to the island." Lilon started to explain while her, her sisters, and some of the female crewmember who were on deck were blushing since Link's wet clothes started to show off some of his body in some of the right places, "Plus, we need to tell you that we rescued two people that we thought we would never see again."

"And who would that be?" Flare asked.

"Sir Helmut and Sir Colton." Lilan said. Activity on the deck went into a screeching halt.

"Are they still on your island?" Link asked.

"Yes, the boat they were in was badly damaged and we convinced to stay at our home until we can figure out what they should do." Liloon explained.

"Flare," Link said, getting her attention, "Go to the bridge and tell them to set a course towards their island."

When she heard the order, "Are you sure about this?" She asked.

"Of course I am." Link said, "I'll let him explain the reasons why he did what he did, because the reason behind it is theirs to tell." He said, "Now if you would all excuse me, I need to change into some dry clothes."

When he started walk away, he started to hear a few whistles coming from most of the women on deck, while Flare was trying to hide a small smirk at his predicament.

*** * ***

_Two days later . . ._

Helmut and Colton were currently sitting at the top of the mountain, just enjoying the view. Colton knew what was going through his son's mind, "I know you don't regret breaking me out of the brig, but I also know you regret breaking so many of your friends' trusts by doing so." He said.

"I know father. It's just that I'm not sure if they'll ever forgive me for betraying them just so I can save your life." Helmut said.

"Oh I don't know. Why don't you just try us?" Turned to see heading their way was Link, followed by Lino, Flare, and Axel, "And don't worry, we're not here for blood.

The next hours were spent catching up with what they were doing and the reason behind Helmut's decision. When they finished, Link was the first to speak, "I've already knew about you two being family." He said, getting a surprised look from the people around him, "The day before the assault on El-Eal, I was heading towards the cannon room when I heard your conversation. I didn't tell anybody at the time because it wasn't my secret to tell. When I heard about what you did, sure I was a little mad, but in away, if I was in your position, I would have done the same thing in a heartbeat if I feared somebody might end up facing a terrible fate."

"I know would if my father was in the same situation." Flare said, whatever anger she had towards Helmut vanished completely.

"Same here." Axel said.

"Anyway, on the way here, Link talked to me and we both agree to give you a choice." Lino said, "If you would like, we can accept you as citizens of the Islands Nations Federation, with the same freedoms as anyone else, even becoming apart of our military forces, or if you still insist on leaving the area, I'll gladly let you take one of my ships to one of mainland, its up to you."

"As for now, we're getting the gang back together, so how about you join us, and you can give me your decisions afterwards." Link said while getting up.

Helmut looked at his father, who gave him a brief nod, before answering "Okay, Sir Link, we well take you up on that offer." He said while both got up onto their feet.

Here is the latest chapter. If you want me to bring back somebody who disappeared, let me know. Read and Review.


	13. It was a good day

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Gunter was busy making sure his restaurant could keep up with a busy crowd. Thanks to the tips he has received from Kevin and Pam while he was on the Dauntless, he was able to start this business with very few headaches. Right now he is wishing that he had a chance to bring Link here to this place since he was one of the few people who decided to treat him like a person instead of competition to see who can milk out the most money.

He was doing his rounds when he came across Keen and Charlemagne who were just talking. "Hey guys, how are things going?" He asked

They looked up just as Gunter decided to take a seat, "Fine although I'm still feeling the itch to see the world." Charlemagne answered.

* * *

Reinbach was busy enjoying the attention he was getting from the town since he returned from El-Eal. Ever since Micky's story was released in book form, he became an instant celebrity, although he was still no where near as big as Link was now. Right now he was pulling off some swords stances in the town square, unaware that some of his old crewmembers have just arrived at port.

They were watching as Reinbach was showing off until he spoke out, "Is there anyone within this crowd who is willing to take me on?"

One person in a dark cloak walked up, "I'm willing."

Reinbach didn't look too impressed, so he said "You think you can take me on, a former Crusader, than you've got another thing coming. Be on your guard!" He charged in, going for a quick win.

What happened next happened before a single eye could blink. The stranger quickly drew his swords and knocked Reinbach flat onto the ground, causing his cloak to fly off into the crowd. Reinbach looked up to notice a familiar sword being held by a familiar figure, "Care to repeat that last statement?"

"Link, is that really you?" Was the only thing Reinbach could say out of his surprise.

"One and only." Link answered as he put his swords away. He offered a hand to Reinbach, which was gladly accepted, "I thought you learned already about the difference between being good and arrogant, but I guess some habits are just too hard to resist."

Reinbach had the decency to look embarrassed at this, "Well, I was doing okay in the beginning, you know, doing things I would have turned my back on in the beginning, but then when people started to compliment me for doing my part in the war, well I couldn't resist letting the attention go to my head." He said.

Link just shook his head before saying "Let's go catch up while having lunch." He walked away with Lino, Lilin, and Flare in tow, while Reinbach walked along side him.

*** * ***

Deborah and Oskar were sitting at the inn, doing their usual routine now that there is peace amongst the islands again. While Oskar was talking about the latest rumors, a slight crash caught his attention. He looked to see Deborah with a shocked look on her face, "Deborah, what's wrong?" He asked.

Deborah just sat there like a statue for about a couple of minutes before three words came out of her mouth, "Can it be?" She quickly got up and ran out of the in.

Oskar hurried after his friend, who for some reason, was heading towards Gunter's restaurant. When they were both inside, before he could ask, he noticed a familiar face sitting on the other side of the room.

They both walked up to greet the person, "Sir Link, are you really here?" Oskar asked.

Link just looked up and said, "More or less, although probably more if Gunter's chefs keep cooking this good.

"No kidding." Lino said, while giving a small laugh, "Although we would want to make sure not to say this in front of Kevin if we don't want to end up like Brec."

Deborah and Oskar decided to grab a seat and join the group. Link looked around and said "By the way, where's Warlock? I thought he was going to be more open after he made his peace with making that huge rune cannon."

"He was more open when we returned. He hasn't been seen in the last couple of days." Reinbach started to answer, "Just before you arrived, I sent a couple of my men to check his house to see if he's okay."

Just after Micky showed up the two men that Reinbach mentioned showed up and said "Sir Reinbach, we've arrived at Warlock's house to find most of the interior trashed and the only thing that we could find among the rubble was this." He said, while handing him a piece of paper.

Cliffhanger hard to resist. Read and Review, and sorry if the chapters seem too short for you, but there should be a long one coming up sometime in the near future.


	14. Planning a Rescue

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Reinbach looked at the paper and his eyes went wide. He handed it to Link, who took a quick glance and his eyebrows furrowed big time. The letter looked like a suicide note, except that it looked like the handwriting was more like a scribble instead of Warlock's own handwriting. "We need to find Viki now." He said, getting up.

"What is it, Link?" Lino asked his son.

"Warlock is in trouble and we need to save him before it's too late." Link said, before turning the people that were at table, "Do I really need to ask?"

Charlemagne was the first to speak up, "No not really. Once a Crusader, always a Crusader." (I know, I know, I based this saying off an episode of Power Rangers Operation Overdrive, but the saying itself is still pretty useful."

Link looked to see the others agreeing to this, "Okay, we need to gather the crew right away, especially Viki since her mirror would be very crucial right now." He said. Everyone left to gather up the crew.

When the entire crew was gathered, except for Viki, Link started to give them the heads up, "Just awhile ago, we've received word that one of our friends has been ambushed and kidnapped." He started saying, getting everyone's attention, "And that person is Warlock. Right now I'm having Viki use her mirror to locate him so that we can start mounting a rescue." When Viki came running in, "Did you find him?" He asked.

Viki nodded her head while she answered, "Yes, he seems to be at Mountain Mass Island, and he is barely looking well."

"Did you see if there are any others on the island?" Lino asked.

"Only four people at the moment while the rest are on a ship and from what it looks, they seem to be from the Cray Trading Company." Viki answered.

"Looks like somebody decided to follow in their boss's footsteps." Link said, "Although we should still be careful in case this turns out to be a big trap." He faced his crew, "Okay, I'll need 6 volunteers to come with me and 7 more to serve as backup. Dr. Yu, you and Carrie will be on standby while Viki teleports sometime after the first wave keeps them busy and teleports back with him."

Kika was the first to walk up, "Hey Link, me and some of my crew will serve as the back up, and you just handle the first attack." She said, while Sigurd, Hervey, Dario, and three other pirates stepped up and confirmed what she said.

Link nodded his head in agreement to this, "Okay, I'll still need 6 volunteers for the first wave." This was when his 6 walked up: Lino, Izak, Jewel, Paula, Helmut and Axel, "Okay Flare, you're in charge, and get the fleet going towards our location to be safe." When Flare nodded to acknowledge the order, he gave the command that people expect to hear, "Okay, everyone, time to get to work."

Sorry it's so short, but I'm still trying to figure out how to do the rescue part. Next chapter might be a bit longer, but only by a page. Read and Review, and those of you who ain't too happy about how short this chapter is, well better then nothing.


	15. Rescues and Loose Ends

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Warlock was looking just as bad as he is feeling now. He wasn't sure how long he had been here, only what they wanted, and that's to pay him back for going against their employer. Right now he felt like he was going to fall off his last leg from all of the beatings "Excuse me, but is this anyway to treat an old man?" He looked up to see a face that he last seen floating out to sea.

"How did you get in here?" One of the guards asked. What happened next scared the guard too death when he heard three bodies hit the ground and he turned to see Lino, Izak and Axel standing over his fellow crewmates, while Paula and Jewel are helping Warlock out of the chair. He looked towards the young man in front just in time to see a fist flying right at him, just before everything went black.

"Good night." Link said when the man landed on the ground. He looked just as Yu and Carrie just flicked in and gave Warlock a quick going over, "How is he?"

"A little worse for wear, but he'll live." Yu said, "We need to return him to the ship." He activated one of the little mirrors that Viki handed out to the crew, and all three vanished into thin air.

Link looked just as Helmut walked up to him, "How are things holding up out there?" He asked his friend.

Helmut gave a slight grunt, "They're just a bunch of pushovers. Apparently they thought that nobody would be able to find them here so soon." He said, "Right now Kika and her crew are having a field day with them."

Link looked down at one of the guards, and one of his eyebrows went up, "Hey Jewel, don't some of these guys look familiar to you?" He said.

Jewel took one look and her eyes went wide, "Yeah, he was part of that crew that tried to force us to hand Lilin to him after she came to us for help." She said.

"The ones you told me that you blew out of the waters outside of Obel?" Lino asked.

"Yeah, are you mad?" Jewel asked back.

"No, to tell you the truth, I would have done the same thing right on the spot." Lino answered.

They all looked towards their leader when he drew out his swords, "If you would excuse me, I have somebody to teach a lesson to." Link said, "I'm not going to kill him, just make sure that he answers for all the things that he and the Cray Trading Company pay for all the pain and grief they caused to so many people."

Barely fifteen minutes later, the only person left standing was the ship's captain, with the Crusaders surrounding him, and his ship being nothing more then kindling. "What are you going to do to me now?" He said, trying to sound brave.

"Cut the act, you're not impressing anyone." Link said, "Since you guys no longer have the Kooluk to help you get away with everything anymore, you and your company are going to be held accountable for all the crimes you've committed for your own greed."

The captain looked at Link and his eyes went wide after recognizing, "You're that boy that ruined my mermaid shipment!" He said.

"No I'm the boy who is protecting everyone in the islands from sick bastards like you." Link shot back, while placing his swords back into their scabbards, "Take him to Jango and tell him to hold him tell we reach Razril."

Helmut and Izak nodded at this and dragged him towards Jango's ship. About a day later, and about a quarter of the way to their destination, Warlock recovered enough, and with a little 'convincing' he is now working again in the rune cannon, where Link and Yu convinced Pablo to leave the old man alone.

Around the marketplace in Razril, a blonde stepped out of a shop, with a small bag in his hand. He looked up into the sky, with a small smile on his face, "I hope you're doing well my friend."

The rescue is complete, and an old friend makes a brief appearance. Read and Review.


	16. Back to where it started

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV, otherwise it would be a little longer and there would be more ship-to-ship battles and one-on-one fights.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

The town of Razril is slowly blossoming into a country of its own, even though things were a little rough at the start due to the people cutting off their ties with Gaien after there support, or rather lack of support, when the Kooluk invaded. Middleport and Obel, through the newly formed INF, were kind enough to help them get started by donating money and ships, both merchant and warships, which helped Katarina big time to get the knights reinstated, but as the Knights of the Island Nations Federation.

On the training field in the knight's hall, Keneth, who is now Vice Commander, is helping with the sword training, by walking row by row, inspecting everybody's technique, "Remember that despite everything you learn here, a knight also needs to be flexible because you never truly know who you'll go up against." He said, remembering the things that Glen said whenever he decided to personally help out with the training. He looked up to see Tal standing next to the door that connected the field to the rest of the hall. He pointed towards one of the senior knights, "You're in charge."

"Yes Vice Commander." The knight said, while she saluted.

He walked up to his friend, "So I take it that you're done fishing for the day." He said.

"Yeah, I just got done dropping my share off with Funghi." Tal responded back. Out of their group of friends, Keneth is the only one who decided to return to being a knight while the rest decided to try something different with their lives. While Jewel and Paula moved back to Na-Nal, Tal decided to take some lessons on net fishing from Shiramine and Snowe is busy trying to find himself since he is no longer under his father's constant control.

Now the two are just entering the town, talking about old times when Link was the glue to keep everyone together. When they looked ahead to see the ship that delivered their town from the iron fist of Kooluk, they were starting to wonder what the deal was until "Hey guys, how's it going?" They were greeted by two familiar looking girls.

Snowe Vingerhut is walking through town, enjoying his day off from being the errand boy for the town. He decided to start doing some odd jobs to see what talents he might have that can prove useful. While he managed to prove his worth to most of the townspeople by working for it, although there were still some who still had a grudge against him for what his father and he did when they sold them out to the Kooluk while a small few still despised him for his part in getting Link exiled due to a jealous ego. Even though Link has forgiven him for throwing their friendship away because Link has proven himself to be a better knight then Snowe ever was Snowe still hasn't completely forgiven himself for his past deeds.

When he walked out of the item's shop, he jumped slightly when he saw the Dauntless and Grieshund docked at the port. Deciding to go and see if he can find his friends, "Hey Snowe." A familiar face said while walking by him. "Hi Link." Snowe greeted back while he continued walking. It wasn't until he was just about to enter the ship until it finally clicked on who he just greeted.

Here it is, the latest chapter, sorry again for it being this short, right now I got too many projects to deal with, two of them I plan to publish for real, and no they're not fanfiction, so please bare with me. I'll do my best on making the next couple of chapters a little longer then the past ones. Read and Review.


	17. Reunion Galore

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Snowe is running towards the alley, wanting to confirm for himself if the person that greeted him was the one he saw floating out to sea on a funeral boat all those months ago. The one thing he regretted on that day was that he never found an opportunity to apologize to his old friend for betraying him by going to daddy to help settle his issues.

When he arrived at the area that used to look like it was abandoned by time, but was now a combination restaurant/farmer's market. He saw his best friend being surrounded by a good portion of the townspeople, who were more then glad to see a familiar face once again. He also saw Keneth, Tal, Jewel and Paula at the same table, laughing at the amount of attention their friend is receiving.

"Hey Snowe, get over here already, will ya." Tal yelled out.

"Yeah Snowe, this is the first time we've been together in a long time." Jewel said to him.

Snowe slowly walked up and he could see Link watching his movements. When Link got up off of his chair, he said just one thing to show Snowe that he had no hard feelings, "How's it going buddy?" Before anybody could blink, Snowe gave his friend a tight hug, giving him a bunch of apologizes

Katarina is looking out towards the young nation that she decided to protect from those who would threaten them in these hard times. Even though they are apart of the INF, the one thing they can't do is rely on them to the point where they become vulnerable, just like they were with Gaien. Thanks to the help of Keneth, Konrad and Gretchen, the Marines Academy was reborn without a hitch.

The one thing that she keeps asking herself is would Glen be proud at what she has done so far when it came to bringing his dream to life, one where the knights could actually be of some service to the people of Razril without being used as some politician's person army. Her main regret in life is never taking a chance to tell Glen that she was his daughter and her other regret is taking her emotions on his loss on the boy he always treated as a son. One thing that she never told anybody, although Konrad probably already knew, was that she was jealous of Link because Glen was giving him the same kind of attention that she always wanted, a father's love even though their relationship could be also consider that of a Master and Student.

A loud knock got her attention. "Come in, Master Konrad." She said.

"Still as sharp as your father I see." Konrad said, while closing the door behind him, "Although I wish you would stop calling me master since you now outrank me."

"I understood, although to me, you'll always be my master since you're the one who taught me everything I needed to know about magic." Katarina said.

"I understand, Commander Katarina." Konrad said, giving her a taste of her own medicine, "Anyway, Gretchen and I wanted to know if you're willing to join us in grabbing a quick lunch?"

Katarina gave this a quick thought before saying "Sure, anything to get me away from the paperwork for awhile." She said, causing Konrad to give a little chuckle.

No matter how strong or how different a leader can be, the one thing that they all have in common is that they all look for an excuse to avoid the dreaded paperwork, "Alright then, lets get going." He said, while the two stepped out, "We've agreed to meet Shiramine at the Rebirth Café."

Before, while Razril was still under Gaien's control, the thought of somebody as powerful as the commander or the governor eating out with the common folk was too farfetched because their was rule when it came to who can with who, although that has never stopped Glen from ignoring the rule since he never wanted to forget his roots, or the fact that he was born amongst the townspeople and he refuses to turn his back toward them, no matter what the reasons are.

Now the nobility rule no longer exists on the islands because Lino and the leaders agreed that it wasn't needed because all it does is divide people and far from a good way. When they met up with Gretchen at the entrance to the hall, they started their journey towards their destination. When they arrived, they were in for a big surprise.

Here it is the next chapter. Sorry for taking too long, right now its harvest season around here and it makes my allergies go crazy, plus I have other stories to keep up with. Read and Review.


	18. Friends Young & Old

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

This and the next few chapters are going to be fillers, showing what's going on with the rest of the crew since I didn't feel like just giving them brief appearance in this story.

The lunch went perfectly and right now Tal, Keneth, Jewel and Paula are at one of the piers looking out towards the horizon. Katarina and Konrad had talked Link into making a little appearance to this year's senior class and have them meet the man who led the islands to a strong future and the only person to have defeated Troy, the best swordsman that even Glen himself couldn't make a single scratch on.

Katarina had told Keneth to take the rest of the day off to catch up with his friends while Link went with them since he wanted some time together with somebody he thought as a brother for a bit and then they'll meet up with them sometime tonight.

Jewel is the first to speak up "So what's it like being the Vice-Commander, Ken?"

Keneth gave a small sigh "Besides the paperwork and the responsibilities it's okay." He said, "Although I can't help but admire Link for not losing his mind while he was a ship's captain and the commander of the army."

"Well that's because he had some help in that part." Tal said, "Link handled running the ship and the fleet while the king handled the diplomatic stuff and Lady Elenor took care of the strategizing and planning ahead."

"In a way, it's not much different from what we used to be growing up." Jewel said, "Keneth would be our strategist."

"Paula would be the calm one." Keneth said.

"Tal would be either eating or sleeping every chance he got." Paula said.

"Jewel would be both our voice of reasoning and our wise gal." Tal said.

"And Link would be both our leader and the linchpin that kept us together." Paula said, "Although I'm curious what we would consider Snowe since he would try to join us while his father wasn't around."

The other three didn't even need a second to answer that question "The rookie."

They just stood their for a few minutes before deciding to split for a bit and save what ever questions they might have for tonight.

Colton is looking out towards the sea from the Dauntless. As much as he wanted to go ashore, he felt that it would be safer if he stayed on the ship in case there were still those who hold a grudge for the things he did while serving the Kooluk.

While he don't regret the years of loyalty and service he put into serving his former country, the one thing he does regret is acting out the orders giving by his superiors who were even younger then his own son, plus the orders he was tricked into doing due to Graham Cray's deception. While he was a little sad that Sir Troy was defeated and died at El-Eal, from what Helmut has told him about that last duel, Link fought him in the way he knew Troy always wanted, honorably and an actual challenge, but also Link let him go out with his warrior's pride in tack and go down with his ship like a fellow captain would.

"You know sometimes the best thing to face the past with is to start planning for a better future." Colton turned around to be greeted by Warlock, probably one of the very few people in this entire fleet he can truly relate to because both have a past they would rather forget, "That's something I've learned during this whole experience, plus seeing that young captain of ours has given me a lot to think about while I was busy trying to tune out from one of Pablo's question sessions."

"You think you have it bad." Both men turned in shock after recognizing that voice, "Try having an apprentice who bugs you to no end about how to act or treating you like you need protection from the outside world." When the figure got close enough, the men were greeted by the site of the Crusader's tactician, Elenor Silverburg. "By the way, thanks for saving me a few full bottles of wine."

Here is the latest chapter, and by the next one, I'll be able to figure out who else to mix together. Read and Review.


	19. Good news, good laughs

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Author's note: The names I chose for the game are as follows; the hero's name is Link, the ship's name is the Dauntless, and the army's name is the Crusaders.

Like I said in the last chapter, this and the next few chapters are going to be fillers, mainly so I could find a way to put all 108 stars of destiny into one story.

On the Boutique deck on the Dauntless, Tanya and Agnes are enjoying a nice meal together as friends. Ever since they reunited at Nay Island, they've decided to put aside their differences and at least try to make peace with each other. Agnes had to make the bigger effort since she made a big mess of things from her constant attempt to act like she was protecting Elenor from the outside world, only to realize that she was a bit jealous towards Link, Lino, Kika, and those who are capable of talking to her without making a complete fool out of themselves.

Tanya, being the ever living academic, was the first to strike up a conversation, "Agnes, may I ask you a personal question?" She asked.

Agnes gave a small sigh, knowing exactly what the question is going to be. "You want to know why I've always tried my hardest to keep myself by Lady Elenor's side no matter where she went." When she received a nod in return, "To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure. I guess I've been alone for most of my life, especially since I was an orphan that nobody seemed to want to adopt, I guess I saw Lady Elenor as the mother I never had and I didn't want to risk losing her to anybody."

Tanya looked at her for a bit before saying, "I can relate a little bit of what you went through." She said, while taking a bit out of her fish, "I have parents, but I believe I was probably the cause for some of their problems."

"How so?" Agnes asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

"Mainly, it was because I was also keeping my nose into my books and my parents had trouble figuring out what to do with a child that is smarter then they are." Tanya explained, "It wasn't until when the fleet return to restock at the Pirate's Nest that I was finally able to find a place that I felt where I belong." She then looked at her finger, which contained an engagement ring with an average size diamond, "And find somebody special.

This was when Agnes notice the sparkle coming off of the diamond, that her face lit up with excitement, "Oh my god, when did Oleg propose to you?" She asked. That was when the wedding plans started to develop.

Sigurd, Hervey and Helmut are walking towards the town square, trying to figure out what to do in this town since they haven't been here since they liberated the town from the Kooluk all those months ago. Helmut was feeling a little uneasy because the entire town was greeting him as they walked by, treating him like a friend instead of demanding revenge for being the one in charge of the unit that treated them like trash.

Sigurd picked up on this, "Is everything okay with you, Helmut?" He asked his friend.

Helmut stopped in his tracks, and gave a small sigh, "I'm not really sure." He answered, "I guess I was expecting the opposite of a friendly greeting due to my part in the invasion of this island."

"That's because everybody here noticed how different you were compared to the soldiers who were under your command." The three men turned to be greeted by a familiar looking red headed woman, "They knew that you did everything you could to make sure that your soldiers didn't get too out of control and the fact that Sir Link was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt when you surrendered to him helped convince the people even more that you really are a good person."

"Excuse us miss, but do we know you?" Sigurd asked.

"Yeah, you look familiar for some reason." Hervey said.

"Hello Ameria, I see that you took my advice on using your natural beauty instead of using makeup." Helmut said.

"Ameria!" Sigurd and Hervey yelled out, not believing their eyes.

Ignoring the two pirates, America walked up to Helmut, "Want to go catch up while we have lunch?" She asked.

"With pleasure." Helmut answered both walking away, leaving two very shocked pirates behind them.

A small amount of dust blew by and Sigurd was the first to recover from the shock. He looked towards his friend, who was still stiff as a statue and waved a hand in front of his face. When he didn't get a response, he was hoping he didn't have to carry him back to the ship, until he stepped aside just as something crashed onto Hervey, knocking him face first into the ground. When the dust settled, Sigurd couldn't help but laugh when it turned out to be Dario who decided to drop in literally after going through one of Gau's throwing sessions.

Here is the latest chapter. Hope you enjoy it. Read and Review.


	20. Random Stuff

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else, except this story, on Suikoden IV.

Rakgi, Eugene and Nalleo are in the town square, trying out a game of tops with Basil. When asked, Basil was more then glad to say yes since he was too busy doing something else most of the time instead of playing the game he invented.

On the other side of the square, Rita and Nataly are playing around of Ritapon, with Rene and Noah playing a card game. The girls were having trouble concentrating since they were also stealing glances towards the boys who were too focused on their game.

Igor was able to find a couple of costumers to play his little game. Things were going good for him until he tossed the coin into the air, only for it to never come down again. He looked around for it until he seen it in the hand of Karl, one of the last people he wanted to see. The only thing he could do is give a loud gulp when Karl inspected the coin.

"Still using a two-headed coin, I see." Karl said, before crushing the coin with his bare hand, "And you still owe me money." He said, while cracking his knuckles.

The only thing Igor could do is to start running at speeds that even he didn't know he had, with Karl in hot pursuit.

They ran past the alley diner, where Gary and Ema are sharing a table with Yu and Carrie. While the women are busy making plans about the wedding and the honeymoon, the men are looking at each other, wishing they were somewhere else right now.

Axel and Selma are out on the back deck of the Dauntless, watching over the sea, just enjoying each others company. "It's amazing; a few months ago one person brought so many lives together." Selma said.

"Wither he liked it or not." Axel said, "Although to tell you the truth, I don't think I would have handled the whole thing as well as Link has."

"Agreed," Selma said, "Which is probably what makes Sir Link an extraordinary person."

"Get back here you thief!" The pair turned to see Cedric running, while holding some food in his arms, with Rachael in hot pursuit.

"Do you think he'll ever learn?" Selma asked.

"Probably not if that's his version of flirting with the girl." Axel answered.

Meanwhile, overlooking one of the piers, Frederica was just letting her thoughts flow away with the water. While trying to get peace talks to go as smoothly as possible between two mighty and stubborn empires was exhausting enough, hoping that when she uses the mirror to return, that all hell didn't break loose as she left.

A loud splash was heard, so she turned her head in time to see Ugetsu once again fishing Shiramine out of the water. Frederica couldn't help but to laugh at the two, "Shouldn't you two be enjoying your vacation?" She asked.

As soon as Shiramine was back on dry ground, "Oh we are, it's just we've just encountered Funghi a while ago and he asked us to do some fishing for him." He answered, while wringing out his shirt.

"After he heard that we were back, he and his fellow chefs decided to do a little banquet for everybody and they needed a few more supplies, so we're doing the fishing while Kevin and Pam went to gather up some more supplies with the Los help." Ugetsu finished.

"Well, have fun and make sure neither one of you accidentally get served on a silver platter." Frederica said, with a laugh.

"Well I don't know, Ugetsu looks like he's capable of keeping the town fed for about a month." Shiramine said.

"Hey, are you calling me fat?" Ugetsu said which was followed by a small argument.

Over at the accessory shop on the Dauntless, four of mermaid sister were too busy trying to play matchmaker for the other, trying to help get things in motion with her and the guy she has been keeping her eyes on.

Here is the latest chapter, and a nice little cliffhanger just for the heck of it, to enjoy. Read and Review, and to let you know, I'll be saving Ted's intro for last.


	21. More Stuff

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden IV or otherwise there would be a combo attack involving Hero, Ted and their true runes.

Well, I'm not sure, but for the first, and only time, I'll be able to get all 108 stars of destiny into one story.

Over at the accessory shop on the Dauntless, four of mermaid sister were too busy trying to play matchmaker for the other, trying to help get things in motion with her and the guy she has been keeping her eyes on.

"How are we going to get Lilin together with Link if all of their chances keep getting blown?" Lilen asked.

"Yeah, every time they come close to kissing, something always gets in the way." Lilan said, only to become embarrassed when her three sisters started to look at her.

"And you would know this how, Lilan?" Liloon asked.

"Probably because she has been spying on them." Lilon said.

Lilan was getting even redder, "And you weren't spying on them?" She countered her older siblings.

Now it was the other three's turn to blush. It wasn't until a loud "Spy on who?" Snapped them out of their thoughts. They turned to be greeted by Mitsuba and Adrienne, who had a mischievous grin on their faces.

"Lilin and Sir Link." Liloon said, "We've have been hoping that this trip would be enough to give them a chance to reveal their love for each other, but something always seems to stop them."

"And Millay has something to do with most of them." Mitsuba said, getting shocked look from the mermaids, "What, even for a ship this size, news tends to travel fast."

"Anyway, I think if we gathered the right people, maybe those two just might have a chance towards a good future." Adrienne said, only to get strange looks from the rest of the girls, "What, just because I'm a bit of a tomboy doesn't mean I don't know a good thing when I see one."

Meanwhile, over at the Knight's Training Hall, Katarina, Konrad and Snowe are feeling a little nostalgia because with Link giving the seniors some of the things he learned felt like they were listening to Glen speaking through the boy. "Does anybody else feel like they're experiencing déjà vu?" Snowe asked.

"I know what you mean." Konrad said, "For as long as I've known Glen, he was never afraid to speak what he wanted to be said and he always went straight to the point."

Katarina was more silent, thinking back to all the decisions her father had made involving Link and the assignments he gave out, especially the ones where he had no choice involving Snowe and command. Now seeing Link answering questions from the first batch of apprentice knights produced from the INF, she couldn't help but think how much Link has help the Commander through his last days emotionally while he fought through the pain the Rune of Punishment by his choices as a captain.

"Man, Link really sounds different when he giving his speech to the students, doesn't he?" Gretchen said.

"Well considering how we started out after graduation, I don't really blame him." Snowe said, as Link explained what to expect when they become knights and to be ready for the unexpected, "During our time at the academy, I've always got the highest marks, despite whatever mistakes I made when we went out on field training, and whenever Link starting showing signs that he was about to do better then me, my father made sure to have him become nothing more then my shadow."

"And now your old man is probably going to have a heart attack when he finds out that the boy that everybody thought was long gone is alive and well." Gretchen said.

"Most definitely," Konrad said, "Especially since Vingerhut is like any other bureaucrat, fat pockets full of other people's money, big fat egos and nonexistent common sense."

When one of the students asked about the Rune of Punishment, Snowe and Katarina couldn't help but flinch at the question because that was what helped give them the excuse they needed to exile him in the first place.

Link decided to clear some things up about the rune, "How many of you know about the True Runes?" Link asked. When nobody answered, "Well, if any of you think that they are the same as the runes we use everyday, then you are completely wrong."

The entire class gasped at this, "What do you mean?" One of the female students asked.

"The runes we use everyday, fire, water, lightning, earth and wind, those can be found just about anywhere, but the True Runes have their own set of rules." Link explained, while taking off the glove off of his left hand, to show them his rune, "Runes like mine are something you should never take lightly because each one is one of a kind and only a small select few are capable of using them to their full potential."

On the Dauntless, Kate was catching up with Ramada, Akaghi and Mizuki after her sister decided to drag her back for some strange reason. "So, Mizuki, what was it that was so important that you had to drag me back here?" She asked.

"You mean you found your client?" Mizuki asked.

"Not quite, they have gone into hiding ever since they found out what happened down here in the islands." Kate said, "Now care to answer my question."

Ramada only said two words, "He's back."

Here is the latest chapter. Sorry for it being a bit short, but it's been a long time since I played the game and I'm starting to forget a good portion of it. Read and Review.


	22. Some More Stuff

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden IV or otherwise there would be a combo attack involving Hero, Ted and their true runes.

92 stars featured; 16 more to go.

At the bottom of the ship, in the shipwright room, Phil is working on some new clothes when Jeane came walking in, "Hey Phil, how are things going for you?" She asked.

"Oh everything is going fine, Jeane." Phil said, without even looking up, "So what was that commotion I've just heard awhile ago?"

"Oh Brec was trying to flirt with me, so I tossed him into the cultivation room." Jeane said, "Although I'm still wondering how Mao and Nao were able to get back onboard without anybody noticing."

"Yeah, and so far they give everybody the creeps." Phil said.

After a commotion going on, from Mao and Nao yelled about how Brec was killing their creations with his stench to what sounded like a crash with a loud grunt. "Excuse me, Phil." Jeane said, before leaning out the door, "Gau, sweetie, "If you want to toss that stink bag, then make sure to take him out onto the top deck and throw him overboard so that way you don't have to explain to Link on why you sunk his ship"

Gau gave her a grunt that sounded close to saying 'understood' before Brec started to beg for anyone to keep him from getting wet. Jeane came back and closed the door, "So would you like me to make you some clothing that covers up the rest of you?" Phil asked, "Or did you want me to fill in the gaps that your current wardrobe has?"

Jeane looked herself over, "Why, what's wrong with what I'm wearing?" She asked, "You're starting to sound like my mother."

"Yeah well, right now if the rumors I heard are true, then you might end up unintentionally ruining any new possibilities of a new couple from emerging." Phil said, "One of them being the captain."

"If you're talking about Link and Lilin," Jeane started saying, "Then everybody already knows the only thing keeping them from actually taking it a step further is the fact that somebody is always ruining the moment."

"Yeah, so I heard." Phil said, "Anyway, what happened to you after El-Eal?"

Meanwhile, up on the top deck, over the bridge, Aldo is doing a little target practice from one of the extensions that Nico and Wendel use whenever they are on lookout. Right now he has one of the pirates from the Grieshund launch some targets from a small catapult, which he shoots down with perfect accuracy.

Just as he shot off an arrow towards another target, an object went flying past him, intercepting the arrow. Considering the loud "Yeow!" that followed, it was a person. After getting a good look at the person before crashing into the sea, he realizes that it was Brec he shot. Aldo turned to see Gau as he was dusting off his hands, "Hey Gau, I hope you're not dirtying up water doing that." He said, before he heard what sounded like somebody getting ready to do a big logy. He turned to see a water dragon leap out of the water just as it spit out Brec, sending him flying towards one of the academy walls, "I guess even the sea creatures have their standards."

Gau just stood there and watched as Brec made a big dent on the academy walls.

Inside the Boutiques, Nabokov was having a light snack, since there was going to be a banquet going on in town tonight, while taking a break from appraising some treasure that Rene has brought with her before she went off with her friends. He looked up just as Chiepoo was on the other side, talking to Nalkul and Champo, going crazy over some seafood that was offered to them.

Taisuke came by and took a seat next to him, "Hey Nabokov, how is the appraising business going?" He asked, before ordering a drink.

"Oh things are going fine, although it's one of the few things that are still taking awhile to take off successfully." Nabokov said, "Are you still building baths wherever you go, Taisuke?"

"You know it." Taisuke answered, "And thanks for providing me with some of the antiques. They really liven up the baths."

"Oh it's my pleasure." Nabokov said, "So far you, Sir Link, the Chairman and Kika are the only ones who seem to appreciate the true value of such antiquities."

This caused Taisuke to choke on his drink after hearing the last name. After he recovered, "I would never have thought Kika would be one to collect such things." He said, while pounding his chest, "I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover."

"I guess not." Was all Nabokov said while eating his food.

Over at the saloon, Reinhold and Ornan are having a nice drink, while the person who is currently serving as the replacement for Louise, is doing her best to keep things running.

"So did you ever find out anything about that girl that you've been searching for?" Reinhold said.

"Not really, it's still a long shot." Ornan said, "And to tell you the truth, I think my memory of her might be more of a guess then a fact."

"Well, be grateful it isn't Mitsuba." Reinhold said.

"She's still running you ragged huh?" Ornan said.

"You have no idea." Reinhold said, "While most people have changed after their experience on this ship, she is one of the exceptions."

"And you do know that she hasn't even got a glimpse of that letter, right?" Ornan asked.

The glass that he had in his hand stopped as it came close to his mouth, "I do now." Reinhold said, before taking a drink, "Now as soon as I see her, we're going to have a nice little 'chat' about our little business arrangement."

Here is the latest chapter. Sorry it took awhile, I have some personal issues to sort out. By the next chapter, I should be able to get the last batch in, either an appearance or mentioned, then I would actually have all 108 stars of destiny into one story. Read and review.


	23. 108 Stars reached

**A HERO'S RETURN**

Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden IV or otherwise there would be a combo attack involving Hero, Ted and their true runes.

103 featured; 5 more to go

Last of the random nonsense

In a bar somewhere, Maxine is having a drink, waiting for her next contract. Wondering if she should consider going back to see how everybody is doing, but shook her head no on that.

Back at Razril, Haruto is in the library, going over his maps until a small shadow has appeared on the other side. He looked up to see Rene looking around for something, with Rita, Nataly and Noah looking through the books that are within their arm reach. "What are you girls doing?" He asked, hoping not to be the one to explain to Tanya why her precious library was being ransacked.

"I'm trying to find the treasure map I made of the subterranean water channel." Rene answered, "I can't find it anywhere."

Haruto dug through his maps and found what she was talking about, "You mean this?" He asked, before showing it to her, who gladly took it and yelled out a bunch of thank you, "You should be more careful considering how detailed that map is."

"Oh I well." Rene said, as her friends came running up behind her.

That was when the temperature in the room dropped dramatically. "What have you done to my books?!" Everyone turned to see a dangerously mad Tanya after seeing her precious books scattered and thrown into piles..

"And this where you can either help your friends clean your friends clean up or run as fast as you can." Haruto said. When he watched as Rene decided to act more like a friend and help clean up, "Yeah, this ship definitely brings out the good in people."

That was when everybody heard a loud shout from Mitsuba "What do you mean you're breaking up our act?!"

"Well, most people." Haruto said, before finishing up going over his maps. Tonight was a banquet and he didn't want to be late.

In the town square, Etienne was rehearsing with the town and orchestra. While at first he was happy that he got the chance to help provide soothing music for Reinbach, it got really annoying sometimes when he was asked to play dramatic music when his boss decided to show off. He looked towards the center of the square to see Gareth talking to some of the locals about making a statue for them.

When they were finished, Gareth walked off with the blueprints in hand. Etienne recognized that look of anybody of his skills, and those with similar careers: He is going to have his work cut out for him.

After giving the next generation of Razril Knights the speech Glen has given countless of times and going through the whole hero worship thing, Link and Snowe walked out of the Knights Hall, stretching their bodies, "Man, seeing you up there, I couldn't help but think that you really were Glen's son." Snowe said.

"Yeah, although I don't remember Glen getting ambushed by admirers." Link said, while giving his arm a rotation.

"True, although it's not like you don't deserve it." Snowe said.

"Indeed, despite the odds, you paved your own destiny well." Both boys turned to see a familiar redheaded archer.

"Hey Ted, long time, no see." Link said.

Here it is, my latest chapter and I actually managed to get all 108 stars of destiny into one story. There will be three chapters and I can finally bring this story to a close. Read and Review and have a Happy New Year.


	24. Quick Ending

A HERO'S RETURN

Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden IV or else there would be a longer story, more one-on-one and ship battles, and most of the main heroes would have a backstory about their lives, especially the hero.

Fireworks are exploding in the sky, indicating that the Honorary Banquet was under way. The residents of Razril are more than glad to get the chance to honor the hero of the islands. The only tears that were given were those of happiness considering all of the good news that was heard, the main one being that Link was no longer cursed.

Afterwards, when the crusaders had their reunion at the designated spot, Link's secret about his heritage is revealed. Everybody was happy that a family is back together.

Once again everybody left to live their lives, and when Link's time in the world is up, he got to go to the Eternal City with his wife, Lilin, who became human thanks to the powers of the Rune of Punishment. Now passed on to a new generation, the Island Nations lived on to the history books.

Here is the ending to my Suikoden story. Sorry for the short, and pointless ending. I haven't played the game for years and I didn't want to play through the whole thing to remember everything. Thanks for those who stuck it through the end. Read and Review if you must.


End file.
